Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1:1-8; Luke 4:38-44)

Today’s first reading is taken from the beginning of the Letter to the Colossians.  The writer is supposedly St. Paul; however, many modern exegetes believe that it was written by one of the apostle’s disciples. The Colossians were the people of Colossae, a city of Asia Minor (now Turkey) east of Ephesus.  The letter addresses problems of the Christian community in Colossae.  There is confusion over the role of angels and also over ascetical practices such as fasting.

This passage is striking for its coordination of the Holy Trinity with the theological virtues.  Paul acknowledges hope of heaven where God, the Father, reigns.  The hope is being realized by the people’s faith in Jesus Christ.  Meanwhile, it is foretasted in the love people share in the Holy Spirit. 

We are to love others not out of a natural attraction but from our hope of eternal life.  Jesus not only told us of God the Father’s unconditional love but also demonstrated that love in his passion and death.  Our belief in him moves us to imitate his selfless love.  Thankfully, we have the Spirit to help us.

 

Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

 Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

 (Colossians 1:1-8; Luke 4:38-44)

 People say they hope for rather mundane things.  They hope it doesn’t rain, or they hope that they will avoid the virus.  These hopes do not compare with the hope that the first reading today refers to.  Paul tells the Colossians that their hope is in heaven.

Hope in heaven differs from most other hopes because no one on this earth has seen it.  The Scriptures give inklings of what it is like. Revelation says it is “pure gold with, clear as glass.”  The gospels continually describe it as a king’s banquet.  But these are only images that cannot do justice to the reality anymore than a photograph does justice to the presence of a live person.

Despite its vagueness, for the hope of heaven we constrain our desires.  Some have given up their lives in testimony to the Lord who promises it.  We live for it and know that in the Eucharist we get a taste of it.  It is the solace and peace that sharing intimately with Jesus brings.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time

(Colossians 1:1-8; Luke 4:38-44)

When a President is leaving office, political commentators reflect on his legacy. They speculate on how the President will be remembered in history. They said, for example, that Bill Clinton wanted to be remembered for bringing peace between Israelis and Palestinians, which he almost achieved. They might have said that George W. Bush wanted to be known as the education President for the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, but that endeavor was eclipsed by the enormity and the cost of the war against terror. Individuals today also are often taken up with legacy. Some want to be remembered for their philanthropy; others, for their stylish fashions; and others for their independent nature.

By contrast to the contemporary preoccupation with legacy, the first reading today notes how the Christians of Colossae are concerned about destiny. The writer, who is probably a disciple of Paul, remarks that the love this community has for Christians from other places springs from their hope of heaven. Typical of Pauline epistles, the reading actually focuses on the three so-called theological virtues. It indicates that faith in Jesus as Lord moves Christians to imitate his love for others and to hope for the eternal glory that he experienced.

Faith, hope, and love then lead us to God, which is why they are called theological. They form a solid basis which, like R. Buckminster Fuller’s amazing geodesic dome made from triangles, becomes stronger the more times these basic elements are multiplied.